SHARE ON: |
| |
| |
 |
 |
|
|
A Texas nurse was convicted Tuesday of capital murder in the deaths of four patients who died after prosecutors say he injected them with air following heart surgeries.
The Smith County jury deliberated for about an hour before finding William George Davis, of Hallsville, guilty of capital murder involving multiple victims. Prosecutors planned to seek the death penalty during the sentencing phase, which was scheduled to start Wednesday.
Davis, 37, was accused of injecting air into the four patients arteries after they underwent heart surgery at the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler in 2017 and 2018. During recovery from their surgeries, the four -- John Lafferty, Ronald Clark, Christopher Greenway and Joseph Kalina -- suffered unexplained neurological problems and died.
During the trial, Dr. William Yarbrough, a Dallas-area pulmonologist and professor of internal medicine, explained to the jury how injecting air into the arterial system of the brain causes brain injury and death.
Yarbrough said he was able to determine there was air in the arterial system of the victims brains by viewing images from brain scans -- something he said he had never before observed in his decades in medicine.
He ruled out blood pressure problems or any other causes of death besides the injection of air, and said it must have happened after the surgeries because the complications occurred while the patients were in recovery.
Defense attorney Phillip Hayes told the jury that the hospital had issues and that Davis was a scapegoat who was only charged because he was there when the deaths occurred.
Prosecutor Chris Gatewood said during closing arguments that Davis liked to kill people. And prosecutor Jacob Putman said the hospital hadnt changed any of its procedures and hadnt had any similar incidents since Davis left.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
12 pm |
| 27 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: SSE 22 KM/H
GUSTING TO 25 KM/H |
|
|
|
1 pm |
| 27 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: SSE 19 KM/H
GUSTING TO 21 KM/H |
|
|
|
2 pm |
| 27 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: SSE 20 KM/H
GUSTING TO 21 KM/H |
|
|
|
3 pm |
| 27 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: SSE 20 KM/H
GUSTING TO 24 KM/H |
|
|
|
4 pm |
| 28 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: SE 23 KM/H
GUSTING TO 28 KM/H |
|
|
|
5 pm |
| 28 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: ESE 25 KM/H
GUSTING TO 31 KM/H |
|
|
|
6 pm |
| 29 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: SE 26 KM/H
GUSTING TO 40 KM/H |
|
|
 |
7 pm |
| 28 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: SE 25 KM/H
GUSTING TO 46 KM/H |
|
|
|
|
TODAY |
HIGH OF 29 ℃
LOW OF 15 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
|
SATURDAY |
HIGH OF 34 ℃
LOW OF 17 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
 |
SUNDAY |
HIGH OF 35 ℃
LOW OF 21 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
|
|
|
MONDAY |
HIGH OF 32 ℃
LOW OF 21 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
|
TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 26 ℃
LOW OF 16 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 25 ℃
LOW OF 16 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 27 ℃
LOW OF 16 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
FRIDAY |
HIGH OF 35 ℃
LOW OF 18 ℃ |
| HEAVY INTENSITY RAIN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
HIGH VALLEY
NORTHERN STAR
12:46 PM |
|
 |
JASON BLAINE
ROCK IT COUNTRY GIRL
12:42 PM |
|
 |
BROTHERS OSBORNE
BREAK MINE
12:38 PM |
|
 |
MORGAN WALLEN
LOVE SOMEBODY
12:34 PM |
|
 |
ASHLEY MCBRYDE
LIVIN NEXT TO LEROY
12:30 PM |
|
 |
COLBIE CAILLAT
CANT SAY NO
12:27 PM |
|
 |
SAMMI PALINKAS
DONT BLINK
12:24 PM |
|
 |
BRANTLEY GILBERT
ONE HELL OF AN AMEN
12:20 PM |
|
 |
CODY HIBBARD
ROLLIN
12:17 PM |
|
 |
KING CALAWAY
BEST THING ABOUT ME NOW
12:15 PM |
|
 
 |
